


Into the Rift, Open the Rift

by 98tuffluv



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe where Pidge and Shiro take the places of Honerva and Zarkon, Implied aged up characters, Other, idk i liked the idea and a lot of people made this comparison so tada, pidge is nonbinary, they/them pronouns for Pidge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 15:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11831577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/98tuffluv/pseuds/98tuffluv
Summary: Pidge is an Altean alchemist, brought to the Galra home world of Daibazaal after a mysterious comet crashes onto the surface of the planet. Once there, they meet Emperor Shirogane, and begin work on discovering the uses of a strange energy source known as quintessence. They wind up falling for the war-lord emperor and everything in their life seems to be going well, but their research into the rift gradually becomes an obsession, and no one is able to bring them out of it.





	Into the Rift, Open the Rift

**Author's Note:**

> If you don't like Shidge, don't read this. It's really not that explicit, but Shiro and Pidge do get married, and if you don't like it then don't read this. Both characters are portrayed as being older than they are in canon, but no ages are given.  
> Other notes:  
> Deca-Phoeb=Year  
> Phoeb=Month  
> Quintant=Day  
> Varga=Hour

Pidge had never thought that a comet crashing into the Galra homeworld of Daibazaal would open up so many doors for them. They had expected to live out their life on Altea as an alchemist, studying the known world, and taking the unknown and making it known. It was a quiet life, but thrilling nonetheless. Pidge had always been interested in the world around them and was at the top of their field, so they weren't surprised that Alfor had noticed them, but they hadn't expected to end up on a cruiser heading for Daibazaal.

The journey took a few quintants and Pidge could hardly contain their excitement. The comet that had crashed had caused some sort of rift on Daibazaal, which opened up a whole new door of opportunities; the potential to travel to alternate universes, to discover new realities, trans-dimensional alliances, the possibilities were endless!

On top of that, it seemed to be leaking some sort of energy that had never been seen before. That particular bit of information caught their attention right off the bat and they spent the entirety of the journey aching to get their hands on some. Time couldn't pass soon enough, but Daibazaal finally came into view, and Pidge was escorted to the royal alchemist's station. Pidge wasn't the only Altean, but they would be leading the exploration, and they were thrilled to receive the honor and the opportunity.

A soft meow jerked them from their thoughts as the ship began docking and Pidge knelt down to scoop up the small creature, “Hush Kova, we're here now. I'm sure there will plenty of mischief for you to get into once we're inside,” they teased, stroking the animal's fur fondly, and heading down to get off the craft that had carried them there.

After that, it was a quick ride to the alchemy center where King Alfor and Emperor Shirogane were waiting. Admittedly, they were a little nervous to meet the Galran emperor, but they were determined to make a good first impression, and they went inside after taking a deep breath to calm their nerves. Kova curled up in their arms as they entered and they were glad to see that a fellow Altean alchemist was waiting for them, “Ah! Hello Pidge, I hope the journey wasn't too rough for you?”

“No, it wasn't too bad,” they shook their head, smiling warmly at him, “I only wish it could have been a shorter trip so that I could get to work sooner.”

That earned them a laugh and he gestured for Pidge to follow him as he led them through the facility, “You'll be staying here for the duration of this, your quarters are down that hallway. I believe one of the Galra stationed here will show you later. For now, we'd best not keep Emperor Shirogane and King Alfor waiting. It is Emperor Shirogan'es planet after all and I'm sure he's anxious to find out what it is that has come crashing down onto it.”

Pidge nodded, following after him into the main laboratory. They took a second to look around, barely even realizing that Kova had jumped out of their arms, and grew even more anxious to get to work. The technology was different from Altea's, more practical and less fancy, but it was _new_ , and Pidge loved nothing more than getting their hands on different technologies, “We've removed the comet, Alfor is looking at it now, and we've collected samples of the energy pouring out from the rift if you'd like to take a look.”

“I'd love too,” they grinned excitedly, following after him to start taking a look at the gathered samples. It wasn't like anything they'd ever seen before and the expanse of knowledge that could be gathered from the particles drifting into their reality was staggering.

A conversation briefly caught their attention and they looked away from their work in time to see Alfor and Emperor Shirogane standing at the edge of the facility that overlooked where the comet had impacted. They noticed Kova approaching and walked over to fetch their cat before it caused anymore problems.

“This...is another reality?” the emperor seemed beyond himself, not even noticing Kova slinking up towards him until the cat brushed between his legs to get his attention. The knee-jerk response resulted in a small jump and a shout of surprise, “What is that!?”

Pidge hurried forward, picking the cat up, and letting him move to sit on their shoulder, “Don't worry, it's just Kova. He's from our reality,” they offered him a small smile, gently teasing him, but not wanting to appear to be rude in front of the emperor.

“Shiro,” Alfor spoke up, gesturing towards them, “This is Pidge. They are the best alchemist on Altea. I asked them to come to Daibazaal and lead the scientific investigation. Their expertise will be invaluable.”

Unable to contain themselves anymore, they leaned forward with a grin, “Isn't it exciting? It could change the way we understand our _entire_ universe.”

The emperor seemed...flustered and out of place, quickly averting his eyes from them, “Well, find out everything you can. I will provide any support you require. I must go,” with that, he turned, and walked away, leaving Alfor and Pidge to stand in silence as they watched him retreat.

“He didn't stay long,” they noted, reaching up to scratch behind Kova's ear before going to get back to their work. They had many phoebs of work ahead of them at least and they couldn't wait to get started.

 

~~~*Three Phoebs Later*~~~

It turned out that there was the potential for deca-phoebs worth of research and scientific inquiry ahead. They spent countless varga examining the rift and then explaining what they'd found to Shiro (who had finally gotten over his embarrassment and had begun spending more and more time in the lab...and with Pidge). They named the energy source flowing from the rift “quintessence” and had begun to implement experiments with it to further their research.

During that time, they grew closer to the emperor who had taken a serious interest in their work. They were more than happy to share it with him and, as Pidge settled into their new role on Daibazaal, they found that they wanted to spend more time with Shiro than they were. He had been a slightly intimidating presence when they first arrived, but it didn't take long for them to realize that he wasn't as tough and callous as everyone made him out to be. All in all, the Galra themselves weren't exactly what they'd been expecting, but they were pleasantly surprised.

“Any new discoveries today, Pidge?” the familiar voice spoke up from behind them and they turned to smile at him before turning their eyes back to the screen in front of them.

“It's only been six phoebs and we've barely made the tiniest dent in the potential of quintessence,” they began to babble excitedly, pointing to the energy charts, and various other measurements on the screen, “It transcends any fuel source that we know of, even the fusion in suns doesn't equate to the power of this. It's...limitless! A never ending energy chain with potential uses that we can't even begin to comprehend. Just harvesting this stuff is difficult, but with time we'll figure it out, and refine it into something usable.”

Shiro came to stand beside them, hands clasped behind his back stiffly as he rocked on his feet. To anyone else, it was obvious that he was nervous about something, but Pidge was too absorbed in their explanation to notice, “I see...Pidge,” he waited for them to pause and shift their gaze so that they weren't staring at their results and cleared his throat, “Would you...like to join me for dinner? Back at the palace, I mean. Or here. Wherever you prefer...we could go anywhere, actually.”

Pidge blinked, a little at a loss for words before an easy smile slid onto their face, “I'd love too. Let me record this data and then we can go?”

“Yes...yes, of course,” he seemed relieved and waited around patiently while Pidge entered the day's data into the logs. Once they were done, they returned to the emperor, and he smiled at them, “Ready? Where would you like to go?”

“The palace sounds wonderful,” they assured him and together they left the facility to go to the palace.

It wasn't long before rumor started about the Emperor's fraternizing with the head Altean alchemist. Some were against the relationship, others believed that it was a sign of change, but all would eventually come to accept their emperor's decision. Most were under the impression that it was about time he found a partner anyways and it soon became public knowledge that they were dating.

Pidge still returned to their work every day, but Shiro came to 'supervise' more and more frequently. The two of them talked about the rift day in and day out and their knowledge of quintessence only grew, along with their bond and love for one another.

~~~*One Deca-Phoeb and Six Phoebs Later*~~~

By that time, Pidge lived and breathed in the rift facility, and Shiro was right there with them for as much time as he could spare. He still had to deal with his duties as emperor, but he managed to make time to spend with them, and allocated tasks out to trusted advisers to deal with so that his schedule had more freedom. Alfor came to visit occasionally and, together, Pidge and he would compare notes on what they'd discovered about both the comet and the rift. It only added to the questions that Pidge became determined to answer and their tendency to bury themselves in their work grew.

“And the molecular density should be so much bigger than it is, it's giving us a whole new outlook on physics and the way our world works-”

“Pidge,” Shiro finally had to cut them off, looking utterly lost despite his attempts to follow what they were saying, “That's...fascinating, but I'm having a hard time keeping up. Maybe you could explain more to me over dinner tonight?”

They nodded, closing down the screen that they were working on, and offering him an apologetic smile, “I don't think I can teach you all of that over dinner, but I'll give it a shot,” he leaned in for a kiss and they returned it happily before moving to another station.

Shiro followed as per usual, but he stopped, and slowly slid his hand into Pidge's, “Pidge,” he spoke their name softly and they craned their head to look at him. The look on his face reminded them of the first time they'd met and he swallowed, using his free hand to rub at the back of his neck, “I've been wanting to ask you-I haven't really known how too-but...I...” he took a breath, lifting his eyes from the ground to meet their gaze before he let go of their hand, “Nevermind.”

“Shiro...” they looked at him with obvious concern, turning completely to face him as they reached up to cup his cheeks in their hands, “What is it?”

There was another pause and he reached up to take their hands into his own, completely dwarfing them in comparison, “Well...we've been together for a deca-phoeb now and I think we make a good team so I was wondering if you...if you would do me the honor of-”

The realization hit them abruptly and they hadn't even realized they were jumping up to kiss him until they pulled back with an elated grin, “Of course! Yes, the answer is yes,” they kept their arms around his neck, absolutely beaming at him, and the relief and joy that spread across his face only served to make their heart swell more.

He picked them up by the waist, spinning them around with the largest smile they'd ever seen on his face, and gently set them down. He took both of their hands in his once more, holding them by the fingertips, “It will be a grand event, everyone will be there. When should we do it?”

“As soon as we can,” they decided, standing on their tip-toes to kiss his jaw.

“As you wish.”

 

~~~*Six Phoebs later*~~~

“Pidge, working hard as always,” Alfor's voice drifted from behind them, slightly irritating them as they tried to keep pace with their work, “Many thanks for the gift. Allura loves it.”

Right. They'd given a gift to the newborn princess. Well, Shiro had. Pidge had stayed behind to work more on their quintessence experiments rather than wasting time with frivolous celebrations. After their and Shiro's wedding, they'd sunk deeper into their research, and had hardly cared what happened on their home planet of Altea.

“It was a customary gesture,” they dismissed his thanks, fingers still tapping away at the screen before them, and didn't seem to care that they'd shocked him with their bluntness. How could they care? They had just discovered something that would completely revolutionize their experiments! Alfor's daughter was meaningless among the banks of knowledge to be gathered from the still-oozing rift.

“O-Of course,” he stammered out the words, seeming ill at ease for a moment before he changed the subject, “How is our quintessence experiment?”

Pidge pointed back at a spinning machine, “Still running,” why couldn't Alfor just leave them alone? They had bigger things to worry about and, at that point, the continued running of the quintessence experiment was irrelevant.

“Still running after a full year on one drop of quintessence with no declines in revolutions per dobash. And no other energy source like this exists,” all the words leaving his mouth were things they already knew and they were struggling to keep from snapping at him, “The ships I'm creating for us work on the same principle and the ore from the comet practically re-engineers itself-it's...frightening. In a way.”

“Endlessly powerful ships for the Galra empire,” Shiro had been pleased at the revelation and Pidge had already started working on plans for ships far bigger than any that had been seen before. They didn't have quintessence before and the ships that had been built had stretched the limits with what fuel they'd been able to create. Still, even with all the new things being discovered, Pidge knew that they had barely dipped a fingernail into the possibilities.

Behind them, Alfor chastised Shiro, who simply nodded along. It was then that Alfor finally noticed the small creature that Pidge had discovered fleeing from the rift and all of his attention moved to that, “What is that?”

Finally. Something interesting to talk about, “I sent some signals into the neighboring reality and this...creature answered the call. Nothing from our universe has been able to survive the passage through the rift, but somehow _he_ arrived unharmed,” they approached the container that held him, pressing their hand lightly to the glass. They had yet to figure out an appropriate experiment for the small being or to even discover if it was sentient, but it was alive, and that proved to them that there was potential in being able to traverse through the rift without dying.

“What?” Alfor's tone was obviously displeased and Pidge's eyebrows shot up as he went on to start going off about being cautious. How could they be cautious? Caution kept science from progressing and they weren't about to let all of their hard work go to waste because Alfor was paranoid over a being from another universe coming through the rift.

“The ancients thought that lightning was shot from the bows of the gods until science proved otherwise. We must _always_ push into dangerous territory in pursuit of knowledge,” they thought that Alfor had understood that. If he was so scared, why would he allow the rift to remain open and experimented with? Or take the comet that had crashed in the first place? It was ridiculous.

Suddenly, a loud sound startled them all, and Pidge stared as the creature began to act up in ways that it hadn't before. It's smooth, fluid exterior abruptly became spiked and sharp and a harsh sound that grated on their ears shot through the room. A bright light came from the rift as a sudden influx of the very same being poured out and into their reality. Well. That would certainly put a damper on their research.

Their eyebrows furrowed as Shiro wrapped an arm around them, rushing them from the facility as more and more bursts shot out. Pidge was just glad that they had backed up everything they'd been discovering. No knowledge would be lost, but there was slight irritation from having their experiments put to a halt until a solution could be found for the aggressive creatures.

It was easy enough to erect a particle barrier around the facility to halt the progression of the creatures, but it was obvious that it wasn't going to hold forever. Pidge had no answer on what to do. They didn't know how to send the creatures back or how to form a better container to hold them at bay and they made sure to let Shiro know of their concern. After all, they were just as much a ruler of the Galran people as he, and they didn't want to lose unknown amounts of lives. They could sense Shiro's distress over the situation and how torn he was over what was best to do and they did their best to comfort him.

Still, there was a shining light in the growing darkness. It seemed that Alfor's research into his comet was finally paying off. The beasts were far more than they had imagined they would be and they felt positive in believing that the Altean pet project would be enough to put the creatures at bay and finally allow them to continue their research.

Shiro's absence was heavily felt as Pidge stood on a balcony overlooking the sentries posted around the creature's container. They would do little to stop the alien presence, but it was a gesture to show that the emperor was trying. Pidge found it stupid, anyone with eyes knew that the beast was far more powerful than any of the emperor's forced. At least, for the time being. Had Pidge been able to study the sole creature, they might have been able to find a weakness, but time was gradually working against them, and they felt the weight of how small their lifespan was in the grand scheme of things.

Pidge was pulled from their thoughts as the barrier suddenly shattered and allowed the beings inside to begin to take form. The monster was ginormous, beautiful in a way, but terrifying nontheless. It tore through sentries like they were nothing more than wet pieces of paper, completely unaffected by the blasts, and Pidge began to wonder if quintessence had more than just a use as an energy source for ships and power stations.

If those creatures were from an alternate universe that was overflowing with quintessence, wouldn't they have been infected? If so, their great power, and ability to travel through universes could be explained and be transferred into Pidge's own projects. It was only a theory, but they knew they needed to get their hands on the creatures to study them more intently in order to further their research.

Initially, it seemed as though the lions weren't going to be able to defeat the creatures after all, and they began to turn to one of the Galran servants to instruct an evacuation of Daibazaal when something caught their attention. They turned, squinting into the sky, and watched as the lions came into formation before disappearing in a burst of light to become a much bigger machine. Later, it would be dubbed 'Voltron', and Pidge watched in wonder as the five paladins became one and continued the attack on the beast.

“I would have gone something more classy than punching it Shiro,” they muttered under their breath, leaning their elbows on the railing, and letting their disease slip away. Things were under control, the machine was made from something that had likely come from the same universe. It would only be a matter of time before their husband and his friends managed to defeat the creature. Their research into the rift would be saved and the universe would gain a new hero and protector to look up too.

“Shiro...” they stared with wide eyes as the creature began swirling around Voltron, trapping everyone inside of it, and their hopes for those things being defeated came to an abrupt halt, “Prepare the ships, begin evacuation procedures immediately...” it hurt to say, but they had no other choice. Shiro would have done the same thing in their position.

“Highness,” the servant's eyes were drifted over their shoulder as she pointed back to where the mass cloud of beings was being torn into.

The stress lifted and they let out a breath of relief, “Never mind. Our emperor and his friends seem to have the situation under control after all.”

It was a shame, they didn't get to collect a sample of the otherwordly beings in the end, but Daibazaal was safe, and would continue to be as long as Voltron was around.

It took a few varga, but Shiro finally returned to the palace, and Pidge was quick to run to him. He picked them up easily, allowing them to hold tightly to him, and savor his presence, “I knew you could do it,” they muttered, though they wouldn't admit that they had been afraid to lose the thing most precious to them in the universe.

“I did it for you,” he murmured, “And our people,” his gently set them down, cupping their cheek in his hand with a loving smile.

An awkward cough caught their attention and the two broke apart to look towards Alfor, who was standing near the doorway, “I hate to cut off such a reunion, but I believe we're due for a visit to the rift. Make sure none of those creatures made it through again. As...interesting as that battle was, I'd hate to call Blaytz back from his date.”

“Of course, Alfor,” Shiro nodded, giving Pidge's shoulder a quick squeeze, “Let's go take a look at the damage, hopefully it won't be too hard to fix.”

The trip didn't take long and soon the three were peering down into the rift, which looked as docile and nonthreatening as ever. Quintessence continued to gently pour from the surface, drifting up into the air, and bobbing in place as though nothing had happened. It was a relief to see that the rift had remained undamaged, their lab was another story, but drones would have it fixed in several varga, and they were already getting to work putting things back together.

“We must find a way to seal up this rift,” Alfor spoke suddenly and Pidge immediately felt a wave of irritation towards their former king.

“Seal the rift? Why?” they couldn't begin to imagine why Alfor wanted to close off such an immense pool of scientific knowledge. How could he even think of closing it?

He seemed surprised at their obvious distaste of the idea, but he kept his tone calm, “It nearly destroyed Daibazaal,” he attempted to reason, but Pidge wasn't having any of it. As much as they wanted to protect their planet, the Galra could easily survive in space if necessary, and losing a single planet in the grand scheme of things meant nothing. Besides, it wasn't the rift that had caused all the trouble in the first place.

“Those _creatures_ nearly destroyed Daibazaal and you found a way to defeat them,” their growing frustration was showing, their hands curled into fists at their sides as Alfor turned to instead argue with Shiro on the situation.

“Shiro, surely _you_ agree with me. It must be closed,” as though Pidge would care if Shiro took Alfor's side. They took their husband's decisions into account, but their marriage to him did not nullify their own independence, and that was part of the reason that they loved Shiro so much. He was willing to let them be themselves, even at the cost of a vast portion of their romantic life.

Shiro seemed thoughtful and it was obvious that he was trying to placate his friend despite siding with Pidge against Alfor's wishes, “Maybe not. Look at what we've gained, Alfor. Your ships are the most powerful machines ever created, who knows what else could be discovered if we continue working.”

“You would risk your entire planet? The entire solar system? For what? For more power? I never took you for the type Shiro,” Pidge wanted to snap at him, to let him know that there was more than just power to be found on the other side of the rift, but they were content to let Alfor and Shiro bicker it out instead. As long as they were allowed to return to their research in the end, they didn't care.

“It's more than that,” Shiro's voice grew softer and it was obvious that he didn't want to fight with his friend on the matter, but his position wasn't shifting.

Alfor looked furious, far moreso than Pidge had ever seen. The Altean king had always been the pinnacle of composure, but that was quickly slipping away, “We already have Voltron! You have to know when it's enough!”

That was the last straw for Shiro, who lurched forward to get into his friend's face, “I'll decide what's enough on _my_ planet!” it was the first time in a long time that the Galran emperor had snapped at his closest friend, but Shiro didn't appear to be regretful, and Pidge was proud to stand by his side in that moment. The events that occurred on Daibazaal that day would go down in history and people would cheer their beloved emperor for making a choice that would better generations for thousands of deca-phoebs, “I'm sorry Alfor, the work will continue.”

Shocked into silence, Alfor could only shake his head, “What has become of you my friend?” he turned and left without another word. Nobody exchanged goodbyes and the tension was thick in the air.

Pidge glowered at his retreating back until he was gone, then softened as they looked to Shiro, “You did the right thing, husband. He would have only held us back because he is afraid that we will discover something greater than he can imagine.”

Shiro took their hands, looking down, “Did I do the right thing? Alfor was only trying to help, I should apologize.”

“He will come to realize that you were right in time,” they reasoned, squeezing his hands in their own, “This won't change anything, Shiro. It's only a bump on the road of progress.”

“You're right,” he agreed, nodding, and smiling gently at them. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to their forehead, “I must return to the palace and allow the Galra that were evacuated to return to their homes. I'll see you tonight,” he promised.

Pidge closed their eyes at the kiss, letting his hands slip away, “Until tonight.”

~~~*Two Deca-Phoebs Later*~~~

“Working late again I see,” a teasing tone came from behind them, but Pidge kept their eyes on their work. There was so much to learn, so much to gather...

“Mm...” an absent nod was all Shiro received in response, “The quintessence treatment I gave to Kova is working wonderfully. It's as though he's a kitten again,” said cat leapt from Pidge's shoulder to Shiro's, purring contently as he rubbed his fur against the emperor.

With slight distaste, Shiro carefully pulled the pet from his shoulder, and set him back on the ground, “The medical potential with quintessence is amazing Pidge, you learn more and more every day. The entire universe is in your debt for the discoveries you've made,” he came to stand beside them, looking down into the rift.

They nodded again, “Soon, we'll be able to use quintessence for so much more. The potential is limitless as long as we believe that we can do it, we will.”

“I look forward to seeing your progress at the end of every day,” he smiled, clasping their shoulder, “I'll return tonight for a report and perhaps we'll make it home to bed tonight?”

Pidge smiled wryly, “Perhaps.”

~~~*Four Deca-Phoebs Later*~~~

The experiments were going better than ever before. Kova's quintessence treatment opened up a new era of medical research, one drop of quintessence was enough to power a ship for a deca-phoeb, and still there was more to be found. Pidge worked tirelessly day and night to unlock the secrets of the rift and what came out of it. Perhaps their obsession would seem too much to some, but to them, there weren't enough deca-phoebs in all of time to figure out everything they needed to know.

Their thirst for knowledge had become a slight concern for their husband, but he stuck by their side, and, for that, Pidge was grateful. He was a steady beam of support throughout every failed experiment, every theory proven false, and was always there to help them when he could. His grasp of quintessence was far less than Pidge's, but he knew of its importance, and he allowed it to consume his spouse.

“We had another success with Voltron today,” Shiro said from his spot at the table. He sat at the head, Pidge was to his left, eating while their eyes scanned graphs and charts from the past phoeb's work, “The people love it. The Defender of the Universe. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think.”

They lifted their eyes from the papers, “It does sound nice. Has your group learned anything more about it lately? I heard of Blaytz' discovering the sonar capabilities on the blue lion, but I've heard little else.”

Shiro nodded with a small hum, “Trigel unlocked her lion's potential a short while ago. It's plant based and helped seal a growing fault line that threatened to consume an entire village in one of the outer reaches.”

“Fascinating. And Alfor really has no idea on how these abilities came to be? For someone who talked to much of danger, he certainly doesn't seem to care about how little he knows about his own machines,” they lifted their glass to their lips, taking a sip, and setting it back down as they looked to their husband.

“The lions are a mystery, but their potential is limited, and they can be easily controlled,” Shiro shrugged, “Alfor's concerns mean nothing now anyways. Your research is more important than his fear of-”

A sudden, violent shaking caught both of them off-guard, but it stopped as quickly as it had come, “What was that?” Pidge picked up their tablet off the table, immediately checking to make sure the lab was okay. It didn't seem as though anything terrible had happened and within the next varga, they were sure that nothing had happened besides the minor tremors.

“Sire,” the next day at the lab, one of Pidge's assistants hesitantly approached, saluted, and then lowered his hands back to his sides, “We looked into the tremors that occurred yesterday and we traced the source. It wasn't an ordinary earthquake sir, it...it came from the rift.”

Pidge raised a steady eyebrow, looking to Shiro to judge his reaction, but he seemed unfazed, “It's a minor consequence to deal with. If it grows worse, we'll come up with a solution. As of now, I'll begin making amendments to add structural support to all buildings on Daibazaal in case the earthquakes grow worse. You worry about the quintessence experiments, I'll deal with the rest.”

“Yes sir,” the assistant saluted again, then scurried off to get back to their assigned duty. Pidge found the information interesting. How had the rift caused those tremors? Could it be a wave of some other energy passing through? Or was it something else that they weren't seeing...

“Pidge,” Shiro stopped them before they could turn away and he reached up to pull a small strand of hair from her head, “Maybe you've been working too much,” he smiled, holding up the pure white strand in front of himself, “Stress can be a lot more harmful than some think.”

They covered their hair protectively, frowning, “I'm not stressed. It might be a side-effect of the exposure to quintessence, but if all it's doing is turning my hair white then I'm not concerned.”

“Maybe...we should take more breaks,” Shiro's concern was hesitant, since he knew that Pidge would be vehemently against that, and they were. Their work was the most important thing, he'd only just said that over dinner, and they weren't about to stop when they were on the verge of so many breakthroughs, “Alfor may have been right in saying that we're becoming consumed.”

The mention of Alfor set them on edge immediately and they set their jaw, “No, we're so close to so many things, Shiro! Quintessence would allow us to spread order and peace throughout the entire universe, maybe even others! I'm not stopping. Not now, not ever,” they stormed off to their station, bringing up the screen, and silently fuming until Shiro's hand came to rest on their shoulder.

“I'm sorry, I know how much this means to you. I'm only worried about your health, but if you think you're okay then I trust you,” he brushed his fingers through their hair and they let out a breath as they slowly calmed down.

“Thank you,” they didn't look away from their work, already getting sucked into the streams upon streams of data, “Today will be a good day for progress I think. I might be able to build prototypes of that ship I was telling you about...”

~~~*Three Deca-Phoebs Later*~~~

“Your hair's getting longer,” Shiro noted appreciatively, from where he lay in bed next to them. Pidge was slowly stirring from their sleep and peeled their eyes open to admire him. The Galran emperor always looked the best when bathed in the morning rays of the sun. It was as though he were bathing in quintessence and it made him absolutely glow.

“I thought I'd let it grow out for a little while,” they said simply, stretching, and sitting up to rub at the back of their neck. Kova snarled as he was disturbed from his place on the bed, claws digging into the bed fabric as he jumped down. He'd been irritable as of late, but he was old beyond his years. Illness had nearly taken him, but Pidge's quintessence experiments saved him.

Shiro hummed in appreciation, sitting up, and letting the blanket fall from his chest, “It suits you, I never thought you'd want to have long hair,” he slid out of the bed, moving to the center of the room so that the servants could dress him. It was the usual routine for him, but Pidge preferred to dress themselves. Despite being elevated to a royal station, they felt no need to have servants do something as simple as dressing them, and had nearly had a meltdown when they tried to insist.

Once clothed, the two of them shared breakfast in their room, talking excitedly about the new developments that Pidge was making, and enjoying the brief moment of calm that they got before their busy days began. Shiro would be spending more time in the lab than usual since he had a small break in his schedule and Pidge was determined to show him how much progress they'd made. It was one thing to hear about it, but to see it was a whole other story.

“Enjoy the meeting with your generals, try not to get too frustrated with them,” Pidge said as they adjusted Shiro's cloak, laying it smoothly over his shoulders as he placed his helmet on, “I'll be waiting for you at the lab when your done. I've developed new weaponry that you'll want to see. It's far superior to the blasters we're using now.”

“I can't wait,” he pressed a soft kiss to their forehead, “I'll see you later. Don't get too much done without me or I'll be even more lost than I already have been!” he warned, slipping out of the room afterwords.

Pidge laughed softly, but the smile fell quickly from their lips, “No promises.”

~~~*Two Deca-Phoebs Later*~~~

The earthquakes had been steadily growing worse over the years. Pidge and Shiro had tried to shrug it off as increased activity under the surface, but it became obvious soon that that wasn't the case. To ease the public conscience, they began looking into what was causing the issues, but the answer wans't something that either of them wanted to acknowledge.

“The destabilization of the planet is getting worse, if we don't do something about it, the entire integrity of the planet will crumble within the next ten deca-phoebs!” the scientist pleaded desperately, but Pidge paid them no mind as they climbed down into the pit that held the rift. They approached it, hovering their hand over the surface, and feeling a slight thrill as the quintessence brushed against their hand.

“Then that's ten deca-phoebs we have to prepare,” they said simply, “We can build machines to hold the planet together...with the rift we could build an entire planet. The crusty exterior of this one doesn't matter as long as we can continue our research. In ten deca-phoebs, our technology will be so vast that something as minimal as an earthquake will be irrelevant. I'll talk with the emperor about the precautions that we'll have to take, but we are _not_ under any circumstances closing this rift...I'll die before I let that happen.”

Their eyes darkened for a second and the scientist would later swear that they saw a streak of white course through their shoulder-length hair, but there was never any proof, and the experiments continued despite the advice of the scientists that were trying to warn them of the danger of keeping the rift open. Pidge didn't care, they couldn't stop, they wouldn't stop. There was still so much to learn, so much to do, so much progress to make. They couldn't stop because of the paranoid ramblings of some person who was too afraid to admit that science was coming farther faster than it ever had before. It was a similar situation as to when Alfor had attempted to put a stop to things after the first formation of Voltron and Pidge was not interested in hearing it.

Daibazaal would be fine in the long run, Pidge would dedicate a team of experts to coming up with solutions to keep the planet together, and began making a mental list as they ascended out of the pit. The glow of the quintessence thrummed behind them, still steadily leaking, and spreading into its neighboring universe.

~~~*Ten Deca-Phoebs Later*~~~

It had been over ten deca-phoebs since Alfor last visited Daibazaal. Pidge personally didn't care, but Shiro was eager to show his friend all of the progress that had been made, and they allowed it. As long as he didn't try to shut down their experiments again, they didn't care. They didn't seem to care much about anything else lately, but no one dared to say anything to them. Shiro was adamant that they were fine and that they were simply wearing themselves a little thin trying to make more progress for the good of the universe.

“...five times larger than any current ship,” Pidge registered Shiro's voice echoing through the facility, but they kept their eyes on the scanner before them. The amount of quintessence coming through the rift was only growing and Pidge found themselves spending more and more time examining it.

They had changed of the years, their hair, once a soft mousy brown, was frayed, and pale white. Their Altean markings had changed, forming from green crescents under their eyes to vibrant red lines that ran from their lower eyelid to the top of their lips. Their eyes had taken on a yellow tint, their iris' yellow-brown turning into a deep red as time passed. They dressed in baggier clothing, no longer sporting the alchemist's uniform that they had donned for so long. Pidge knew that they were getting older, that time was passing too quickly for them, but they had to keep going. They had to finish what they'd started.

“Hello Pidge, it's been deca-phoebs,” Alfor's voice broke their concentration briefly, but it was easy enough to get back on task. Pidge was used to people bothering them by that point, but they didn't care. Quintessence was all that mattered in the universe and they were the only one with access to it.

“I hope you haven't come to try to shut down my work,” Pidge spoke gruffly, a little annoyed that the Altean king was even there in the first place. Ever since their last meeting all those years ago, Pidge couldn't bring themselves to want to see their homeworld's ruler again, “There is more power and knowledge in this _tiny_ fissure than you can possibly understand.”

Their attention returned to the several screens hovering before them and they took into account all of the information with a slight twitch of their hand. They'd grown shaky over the past few phoebs, but their knowledge of quintessence was growing at a faster rate than it had before. Forgoing protocols, they'd begun to handle it directly, and what they were learning was beyond what they could have ever imagined.

“I only worry about the stability of-” he stopped as Kova leapt onto the panel, “Is that Kova? How old is he?” the scrawny cat fixed the king with an unamused look, moving past Pidge to demand attention as they dragged their hand over his fur lightly.

“Twenty-eight deca-phoebs old,” they let their hand come to rest on the holo-screen once more, “Shortly after the creatures attacked, he fell ill, but then I began treating him with quintessence,” it was one of their greater achievements. To bring a living thing so close to death back to life was amazing and it had provided more insight into the nature of quintessence itself.

As expected, the king seemed less than pleased with that, “No.”

“He revealed the truth to us,” Pidge ignored Kova as he began to snarl at Alfor. He'd been like that for deca-phoebs, growing more and more irate with anyone that wasn't Pidge or Shiro, “Quintessence is so much more than _you_ can understand,” they didn't bother to keep the bite out of their voice, anger building up inside of them as they remembered how Alfor had continuously tried to stop their work. Had they stopped when he'd insisted, everything they'd learned would have been pointless. Life would have been meaningless, they would have been nothing more than the spouse to an emperor and a failed alchemist and it would have been Alfor's fault, “It is life itself.”

“You've gone too far,” he spoke hesitantly, but Pidge reared on him. Fueled by spite and bitter anger, they snapped at him, glaring furiously, and standing defensively in front of their work station.

“You've always been a coward!” they ignored the shocked look on his face. Everyone had reacted oddly when they saw Pidge after going without for phoebs at a time. They had changed gradually, but drastically. They didn't care. Sacrificing their old appearance was worth it if they got to get closer to discovering more about quintessence.

“Pidge, you-!”

They didn't let him continue, pressing on as the fire inside of them demanded that they do, “You wish to close off our gateway to enlightenment,” Shiro moved to stand behind her, finally stepping away from his old friend and fellow paladin to show his full support for his spouse, “We should be _expanding_ it.”

They'd been talking about that with Shiro for quite some time. If they opened the rift further, Pidge could learn so much more. It would allow more to pass through, to enter their reality to be studied, and jotted down so that future generations could know of its greatness. Shiro had been reluctant at first, reciting the memory of the creatures that had managed to pass through so long ago, but Pidge eased his conscience by reminding him that Voltron was more than capable of fighting off anything negative that passed through.

“If we use Voltron, we can enlarge the opening to the other reality!” and thus the real reason that Shiro invited Alfor to come visit came to light. He and Pidge had decided that they needed to reinstate contact with all of the paladins in order to open the rift further and increase the amount of research that Pidge could do. The planet stabilizers would hold according to Pidge's calculations and there was plenty more that could be done to preserve the planet, especially if there was more quintessence to work with.

The look on Alfor's face wasn't promising, but Pidge felt certain that Shiro could get him to agree. Alfor had to agree. If he didn't agree there wasn't enough quintessence, not enough research to be done, not enough, not enough, _not enough_.

“It's madness,” he finally spoke after a brief pause and Pidge felt fury rise through them once more, “This prolonged exposure to quintessence has poisoned your minds!” no. No! They were so close to so many breakthroughs, so many promising experiments. Alfor couldn't stop them there! They weren't poisoned, they were enlightened beyond their years, and Alfor was trying to cut them down yet again.

Shiro spoke up, trying desperately to persuade his friend to change his mind, “We've only scratched the surface. We can rule this entire universe,” Alfor's expression turned from fear and concern to anger as Shiro continued, “We can live forever! All of us!”

The king of Altea turned away, his expression still one of anger, but more controlled than it had been, “I cannot be a part of this.”

Pidge was aware of yelling in the aftermath, Shiro's furious shouting ringing through their skull as Alfor left. They heard the sound of the doors sliding shut and then the world spun, “Pidge? Pidge!” they blinked blearily up at Shiro, his face swimming in their vision before everything went dark.

~~~*Several Varga Later*~~~

Pidge awoke with a start, breath sucking in sharply as they stared wide-eyed at the ceiling. Everything was too bright, too dim, too hot, too cold, _too much_. Their mind screamed to be back at the facility, back at the rift, back with quintessence, back where they belonged, “W-we must have it. Must have it. M-must have it. Get back...get back,” they gripped at the blankets covering them desperately, trying to claw their way back to what they once had. Quintessence was all that mattered, they needed more. Needed it more than anything.

More words poured from their mouth as Shiro clutched at their hand, “What is it? What do you need?” the worry in his voice was almost palatable. They could see it flowing through the air in heavy waves, so much different to the sharp spasms pulsing from their own body.

There was too much. Too much at once, they needed their facility, their lab, the rift, _quintessence, quintessence,_ “Quin-quin...quintessence,” they managed to spit out the word, eyes scanning the ceiling desperately as they searched for the energy source that they'd been working with since they arrived to Daibazaal, “Quintessence is...life,” life. Life was what they needed. _Quintessence, quintessence was life_ , “Into the...into the rift,” _into the rift, widen the rift, get more quintessence, quintessence, quintessence..._

Shiro's hand on their face reeled them in for a moment and they frantically looked over him, skin paling and entire body convulsing as he tried to keep them grounded, “How?”

 _Voltron, Voltron, get Voltron, into the rift, get more quintessence,_ “We-we must...we must have Voltron!” another convulsion shook them and they repeated the word for as long as it took for the message to get across, “Voltron. Voltron...it is the only way,” _quintessence, quintessence, into the rift, quintessence, Voltron, widen the rift, Voltron, quintessence..._

“Hold on for a little longer Pidge, I'll fix this. For you. Always for you,” his hand stroked their face once more and then his presence was gone, leaving them writhing and gasping on their shared bed as they searched desperately for something familiar. Something _alive_ , something _real_.

Images danced at the corner of their vision, moving too quickly for them to make out. They felt weak, out of place, and their body moved of it's own accord as they thrashed and flailed. A few trusted servants were left in the room, but none of them responded to their desperate calls for quintessence.

Slowly, they began to drift, and the images in the corner of their eyes grew larger and larger until Pidge was swamped in nothing but darkness.

~~~***~~~

_Cold. So cold. Why is everything so cold? Why can't I move? Where am I? What's happening? Shiro? Alfor? Anybody?_

_I can't feel anything. It's so cold, so empty. I want to go home. I don't want this anymore, I want to be free of this!_

_Am I dead? Is this death? A quiet void to float in for the rest of eternity? No! No, I can't...I can't be dead. I won't be dead. Shiro. Have to get back to Shiro, have to get back to Daibazaal, back to work, back to the rift..._

_Quintessence. Need it. Need life. Need quintessence. Quintessence is life, widen the rift, get more quintessence, Voltron, life, quintessence..._

It was with a start that they realized they were curled up on the floor, wrapped tightly in Galra ceremonial robes. Why were they in robes? What had happened? They remembered nothing but darkness and the faint glow of quintessence. They couldn't remember their own name. All they could remember was years of research into the substance that they found themselves craving.

The rustling of a blanket caught their attention and their eyes followed a familiar figure as he walked towards the doorway. _Shiro_. Their mind supplied a name and a title, but nothing more. The Galran emperor...the emperor that they served. The emperor that had allowed them to study quintessence. He was their source for it and they'd follow him to the ends of the galaxy to get it.

“Where am I?” a deep voice boomed through the chamber and they watched as a guard positioned outside the door gaped before composing himself before his emperor.

“On your ship sir,” he responded, fear pouring from him. _Good_. _Fear is power, power is quintessence, quintessence is life..._

There was another pause before Shiro spoke again, “Take us home.”

“I-I can't do that sir. Daibazaal has been destroyed,” the news sent a new wave of anger through the air and the emperor's eyes flashed dangerously. The Galran home world? Destroyed? _No!_ The quintessence, the rift, all of it was _gone_.

They didn't realize that they were growling at the words, but they were torn from their thoughts as Shiro approached where they were quivering on the floor, “Rise,” he commanded, helping them to their feet, and holding them steady until they regained their balance, “Come with me, I need your help to deliver a broadcast to every available screen throughout the galaxy.”

“Of course sire,” they responded instantly, feeling new-found strength flooding through them at the pure, unfiltered fury that poured from the emperor. He nodded, leading the way to a camera, and gesturing to the panel.

It didn't take long to start the broadcast and soon, every screen was flickering to life with the face of the newly reborn emperor, “My fellow Galra,” he began smoothly, malice tinting his words faintly as he continued, “King Alfor of Altea has destroyed our planet. He must pay dearly for his crimes,” _yes. Good. Get revenge against the one that closed the rift, that ceased the quintessence_ , “Rise up and join your emperor. Revenge will be _ours_.”

The broadcast ended and chaos was bound to explode sooner, rather than later as Galran citizens rallied to fight against the King who had _lied_ to them, who had _destroyed_ their homeworld, who had _taken_ the very life, the quintessence from their reality. A slight chill ran down their spine as they pulled away from the screen, looking to Shiro, “What is our next move, sire?”

He turned to face them, expression unreadable, “We find Voltron, open a new rift, and resume the quintessence experimentation. I trust that you'll be up to the task of leading the team in charge of it.”

“With pleasure,” _open the rift, Voltron, widen the rift, quintessence, get more quintessence, open the rift, find Voltron..._

 


End file.
